The Search On Xel'Negg
by metalmorphstan
Summary: A suspenseful sci-fic short story of a soldier in the year 2147 who searches for her lost, older brother on the red planet of Xel'Negg as war between the humans and zorgs continue.


The Search On Xel'Negg  
  
3 Years Ago  
  
One tall, solitude figure was unconscious as it floated around in a giant round egg filled with a green aqueous liquid. Vein-like tubes connected to the creature's back from the walls of the transparent egg. In the silence, questions formed in its mind: "What and where am I? Why am I here? How long have I been here? Why do I feel so much anger?" It remembered none of those answers. All it could recall was the unimaginable pain that its body endured. The pain was like knives stabbed into every one of its muscles. Amazingly, the creature still had enough strength inside to linger on to life because it never abdicated to that torment as its body slowly "changed" into another form.  
  
As usual, jolts of electricity surged through the thin tubes, but this time, something astonishing happened. The creature opened its eyes for the first time. The sky-blue color of its eyes held fury images of anguish as it gawked at the liquid that filled its egg. Every breath inhaled from it irritated its heart and clouded its mind with rage. With its new eyes, it saw the outlines of countless shadows waiting outside the egg bending very low as if bowing to it. It was as if they were expecting the creature to awake. The creature tore its eyes from the mysterious shadows to examine its body as a new emotion arose: fascination and awe. Two curved blades protruded from its pair of hands. Spikes shot out from its hairless head. A tail that was half its height could be seen from its behind, decorated with short spikes still developing along with ten one-inch claws. It desired to be free from the egg so with one quick slice of a blade, the walls of the egg ripped open, spilling the liquid out. It stepped out of the egg with green liquid dripping from its body. It surveyed the thousands of similar-looking creatures, but with the body of black snakes each with a pair of curved blades. The only difference was the skull-like symmetrical face. Pointed teeth lined and held up the jaw. At once, the creature with the dripping liquid standing on two legs knew their name: zorg. All the zorgs were bowing to it. Nothing could be heard except water dripping from the murky underground ceiling. It knew it was destined to be the one instructing all the zorgs. "Rise my fellow zorgs," commanded the leader telepathically. As if the countless of zorgs surrounding the leader heard its thoughts, they instantly stood up on their tails penetrating the air with their pair of scarlet eyes. A new reign has begun. *********** "Life is so stupid and pointless. Nothing can be gained from it," said Mel as she had a small debate with her roommate, Rayn, for the last half hour in his dormitory. Rayn chuckled as he sat cross-legged on his bed. He started through his pair of thick, black TV glasses (which concealed his eyes) to watch a news program. "You mean: Nothing can be gained from this war? You don't have to be so pessimistic about everything in this planet, especially after the unknown disappearance of your brother, Ed, three years ago. Whatever you're thinking about this 'exciting' war against the zorgs, I'm sure it'll be over soon like all wars do," replied Rayn as Mel glanced at her silver digital watch, which read 9:01 P.M. according to Earth time. "Sure," said Mel as she swallowed her last artipill (short for an artificial pill, which could emulate the flavor and nutrition of any edible food anywhere). She deposited her empty, mini-sized bottle that contained artipills of broccoli at the corner of Rayn's room where the empty bottles would then be recycled by traveling through a long, black tube that connected to another building. When Mel sat back on her small bed, she continued, "As I was saying, what you call 'exciting' could be described in a string of some other descriptive words: risky, stupidly mad dangerous. We're in this mission for reasons that only we know of." Rayn nodded his head, signaling that he understood and allowed Mel to continue her long comments. Mel sighed, "If only this bloody war never occurred during the last century, then people would be safe back home on Earth. Only mindless dreamers think that way. I'm not saying we should put down our guns in order to surrender to those sick worms even though we lost millions of soldiers. Don't you agree, Rayn?" A long pause followed as Mel stared with annoyance at Rayn, waiting for any response, but none came from her belligerent friend as he still watched silently into his pair of glasses. That's the whole problem with these glasses. They shut everything down from the outside world. Maybe if I punch him in the arm he'll wake up or maybe not, Mel thought amusingly. I'll write in my journal for now until he wakes from his reverie. Then, Mel rummaged trough her traveling bag until she pulled out a tiny purple-covered notebook the size of her palm and a purple pen. Almost no one she knew used pens because hand-held computers were amazingly popular after their modifications in 2018 because they could send e-mails, play games, and record thoughts. However, Mel preferred the "old-fashioned" way of writing instead. She flipped through the blank, black pages until she stopped at the third page from the beginning of the book. She began to write rapidly with the purple ink visible through the completely black pages. She wrote on the top of the page:  
  
November 19, 2147 Dear Edymonian Sapphire, It's Melanie Sapphire again! (You could call me "Mel" like my friend, Rayn, does). It's my third day on this stinking planet. Those cruel, heartless zorgs slaughter countless of humans in swarms ranging from a few hundred to a thousand. Even their name strikes fear into the hearts of every human. They're like machines, born from hives to do only what their leader tells them. From observations, scientists believe that there is only one leader commanding all the billion of zorgs on Xel'Negg controlling their mindless actions. That's why officials are trying to identify and murder this "leader" to ensure the safety of human s on Earth and on Xel'Negg. If we assassinate the leader, the control over the zorgs will be finally freed, causing them to be disorganized. That way, the UEF (United Earth Forces, which is a union of every country's army to fight the zorg menace) would be able to exterminate them all without much difficulty like now.  
  
Mel paused to see Rayn was still occupied with his glasses. She paced around his small, white room to observe the exotic objects. Seven glow lights that were the size of basketballs illuminated the room as they randomly floated in different parts of the room. They absorbed solar energy from the three hidden suns in the atmosphere. A simple bed stood in the center with Rayn sitting on it. The room was almost empty for the supplies bag, which everyone was required to carry. Rayn's room was similar to Mel's, which was next door. They hardly had free time to be in their rooms because they had to work twelve hours a day experimenting weapons that would be effective on zorgs. A large window next to the bed caught Mel's attention. She saw the arid, dry brown soil of the planet, which was where the ground Base 47 was built on during the last century. She saw electric gates surrounding the base as hundred of vigilant, marching soldiers patrolled it. Bunkers were built outside the gates. Triangular missile turrets towered near barracks to shoot any flying creatures (there were none to be found). Command centers were next to the barracks, whose purpose was to create food and supplies for the soldiers. There were other buildings like hospitals and research centers. Mel and Rayn were in one of the research centers on the top floors. No civilians inhabited the base because every person had a task. The starless night sky had always been the same. Following the years after the news-breaking discovery of Xel'Negg in 2052, there was never any day when any of the three suns arose. The once blood-red sky was consumed in perpetual darkness that to Mel, it seemed like a great, black shadow concealed the planet, swallowing all hopes of victory. The black, ominous "night time" would last a decade before the sky turned back to scarlet, which was a full rotation. Feeling more depressed and home sick, Mel went back to writing in her journal: You're probably wondering why I named you Edymonian (I call him Ed). It's because he's my older brother. If he was here right now, he'll be at the age of eighteen, which is three years older than me. He was my only relative after our parents died fighting in this war when I was ten. Even though my heart continues to grieve for their noble sacrifice, Edy was the only person who understood my sadness for them. Since it was considered responsible for any kid to be thirteen, Edy legally adopted me in order to take care of me like my parents would had done. He's the best brother and tutor that any sister could have. He comforted me when I needed it most. My life changed again when he patiently explained to me that he was going to join the UEF. His purpose in joining the army was to avenge our parents. I was proud of his determination to eliminate the zorgs from Xel'Negg. After he left me when I was thirteen, I continued my studies in school and waited for any news of him. A month later after his departure, I received a letter from his superior officers that he mysteriously disappeared in a battle with zorgs. No evidence was found of him. Not even a message was left. He meant everything to me. Whether he was alive or taken prisoner, I knew I must avenge him so after I completed my studies, I enlisted to be part of the UEF like my brother did. On my first spaceship to this planet, I met Rayn, who was Edy's classmate and friend before he disappeared. He believed the location of Edy is underground this base. I hope he's right. With our determination, there's nothing we can't do. "I agree," said a familiar voice from behind Mel. She angrily spun around to face Rayn as she quickly closed her journal and slipped it back inside her bag. "Don't worry. I only read the last sentence of your journal," said Rayn with a wink. "Don't ever go nosing in my journal ever again!" yelled Mel. Rayn, who had finished watching the news program and taken his T.V. glasses off, had twinkling green eyes and brown chin-length hair. He had a stern face and wore the usual black UEF uniform like Mel. He reminded her of Edy, but they weren't the same. However, Mel had dark hair down to her neck and blue eyes like the Earth's oceans. "Fine, Mel. Good-night." With that, Mel walked out of the automatic doors of Rayn's room and entered hers.  
*********** Five years later In the middle of Base 47, there was a hole dug up the size of a stadium under Mel and Rayn's orders (who were both promoted to higher ranks). Tunnels were also dug leading downwards for miles deep. Since Rayn believed it was the entrance to the zorg leader's base, Mel would be the first to spy on the zorgs inside (if there was any). Lieutenant Mel was in Commander Rayn's office discussing her mission that night. "But about the new weapons -" "Are they ready to be tested?" "Yes. We'll need to go underground where the holes are dug up. This is your first time so I'm going to let you borrow this," said Rayn as he handed her a hand-held computer or mini-comp. It looked like a calculator. "You could send messages to me if you discover anything while you're down there. Remember what you have to do when get there: Use the weapons we developed to track the zorg leader and then get yourself out of there as quickly as possible. Soldiers would be at the entrance if any zorg happens to come up." "May you remind me why I must go alone? Why me?" asked Mel. She knew this day would come. "This is your mission, Lieutenant Mel. We can't afford to risk any more soldiers," said Rayn as he stared at her in the eye. "You may think it's suicidal but I know you could make it out alive. That's why I'm sending you there. We have the most advanced technology available to fight zorgs and you'll need them. This night may end this war forever. We've gone over it many times before. Think you're ready?" "I'm always ready, sir!" *********** In the next few hours, Mel was dodging the zorgs as they casually slithered by as they hissed to each other. She was invisible to them as long as her cloaking device (that looked like a watch) was worn. She was miles underground, following zorgs that went through different tunnels until it would lead to their leader. She never knew that zorgs could be such skillful diggers. Green, sticky slime covered the walls. Every now and then she saw small green eggs growing from the walls, which she knew were baby zorglings developing. Another few hours of walking and she was fatigued. She sent her coordinates to Rayn through his mini-comp every half-hour. She had no luck identifying the leader who should look different from the zorgs. They slithered through tunnels that led to alternate exits and storage rooms. Some led to empty rooms. "You there!" said a loud, authoritive voice from the crowd of busy zorgs. She recognized that voice years ago. Suddenly, all the zorgs turned towards her as if they were silently ordered to. They stood in an attack position, but they didn't attack. They looked like snakes with sharp, knife-like blades and spikes ready to spring on her. To the zorgs' eyes, they saw an empty space where Mel stood but they sensed her presence. This is serious trouble. Why isn't my cloaking device working?! Why didn't they just finish me? Mel thought frantically. Could they really smell me? The voice spoke again in plain English, but more menacing, "You think I can't see you in your cloaking device, fool? Tell me who you are and why you're spying so I'll spare you from these zorgs. I could tell them to kill you right now if you refuse to answer. There's no place to hide from me." "Show yourself first!" Mel yelled back. She couldn't determine where the voice was coming from when the zorgs to her right pulled away for a thing coming. The "thing" looked like a mutated form of a zorg with the usual pair of curved blades and spikes. Unlike the zorgs, it stood on two legs and had the body of a human instead of a snake. It stood six feet tall like someone Mel once knew. It wore black clothes with a long, tail swishing violently. The face couldn't be mistaken. It looked like a human face but more rough and pale. Its eyes were the same color as Mel's. "Edymonian Sapphire, is that really you? How have you become like this?" Mel asked as she switched her cloaking device off to reveal her black uniform and a bag slung over her shoulders. "The name sounds familiar.but I am no longer human. I am part of the zorgs. They're my true family. A family that only I can control. I think I once knew you, Melanie Sapphire," Edy said. "But I can't remember and I don't need to." "Of course you know me! I'm your younger sister. You can't be zorg since you saw through my cloak device. I don't understand why you would want to help these creatures when they murdered our parents," replied Mel as she sent a thought-message to Rayn through the mini-comp in her pocket saying that she found the leader of all the zorgs, although she couldn't fully convince herself it was true. "I am and will always be a very special zorg. You pathetic humans have no idea how you invaded these zorgs' home planet, Xel'Negg. Centuries ago, humans wanted to find a new planet with enough land to support their increasing population after they used all of Earth's resources like pigs and over polluting it until it can no longer hold simple life. Now, you want all these innocent zorgs dead so your kind could set up a superior empire in order to conquer and torture other sentient species without even considering that creatures have emotions as well. Humans are selfish, obnoxious creatures who only care about power and give no mercy on what other living creatures like zorgs have suffered," explained Edy. "But your zorgs have killed so many humans!" said Mel as she considered his reasoning. Remembering history, it was true that humans were the first to kill a zorg while they have done nothing against them. It was also correct that the reason humans had been so power hungry to discover other races all in an attempt to eliminate them and claim the land for themselves. For the first time, Mel, realized her attempts with Rayn to exterminate zorgs were wrong and in vain. She had been blinded by the wrath of her parent's death that she no longer gave thought about what the "enemy" thought. Besides, she was trapped with nowhere to escape or hide since she turned her cloaking device off. She also realized that Rayn betrayed her by ordering her to complete an impossible mission of murdering her own brother, the leader of all the zorgs. He knew that Mel would never kill her own kin. It was too late to turn back. But why? To teach me a lesson? Mel pondered. "We had to kill them to defend ourselves from the human menace. There is no good and evil in this world, only opinion. There's no way I could allow you to escape in one whole now that you know too much," said Eddy with a smile. "I'm not going to waste any more time with you. Attack!" The glaring zorgs around Mel hissed and lunged forward at her with their sharp, blades faster than the eye could see. There were hundreds against one. Blood was spilled under that starless, black night. 


End file.
